Fuel-briquet.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl DAVID C. MGCAN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

FUEL-BRIQUET.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID C. MCCAN, a citizen of the United States, residing` at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Fuel-Briquet, of which the following,I is a specification.

This invention relates to briquets made from Wood shavings and other loose combustible woody refuse, one of the objects of the invention being to provide a compact billet Which retains its original form after a. high pressure has been relieved.

It has been found by experiment that in order to cause a perfect cohesion of wood particles in the manufactu,ring of fuel from Wood waste, Without the use of a binding material, certain forms must bc given to the block by reason of which.r duringr the pressure of the material into the billet, the strains are centralized, so thatl when a pressure, say of twenty tons to the square inch, is relieved, a resolution of the block linto its original loose form is a'voided.

The method of manufacturing' the briquets and the product resulting` from such met-hod is more fully set forth in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying` drawing;` in which,

Figure 1 illustrates an end view of a briquet having a tetragonal obtuse end. lilin'. 2 is a section through the block, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same.

As shown more particularly in the drawing, the block is provided With two tetragonal ends 1 and 2, representing substantially the frustum of a cone, the extreme end of the block being flattened as seen at 3 to prevent Cracking` and breaking of thisl end When the pressur'e is removed and When the blocks are stored or shipped. The edges Llof the ends of the block, instead of rising' to an acuminate apex are chamfered, the provision of a feather edge being1 not only impracticable but tending to destroy the. coherency of the ends of the block. The edges of the body 5 of the block are likewise chainfered for a similar purpose.

In practice, the loose waste material, such as wood shavings, sawdust and allied products are introduced into a mold having substantially the same general outline as the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 14, 1910.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

serial No. 555,463.

block in the accompanying drawing, the plungers serving' to give the specific shape to the ends of the blocks as represented having concavities Which are substantially of pyramidal form. The material in the molds is then subjected to a great pressure, and by reason of the peculiar end formation of the block the strains all tend in one and the same direction, namely, to 'ard the center of the block, causing a cohesion of the particles of Wood shavings, not by reason of any adhesive tendency of the Wood shavings, but purely by reason of the interwea ving of the fibers of the wood Waste particles, the ends serv'ii'igr;I to prevent reactionary disruption and erackinto)` because of the formation of Wedg'cs in the block itself Which tend to equalize the strain and hold the block to- `f rg'ether in one coherent mass.

'lt has` been found in'lpracticable to produce briquets With flat ends from dry Wood shavings, by compression alone, and without the use of a binder. lV here the compression dies are flat, the force of compression is applied to the shavings in lines parallel with the longitudinal axis of the briquet, and When the pressure is relieved the reaction of the wood particles causes the briquet, particularly at the ends, to fray or erumble. lut where the dies are formed to produce ends like those shown in the drawing, the force of compression is directed toward the center of the mass and is more effectively applied. I have found that it is possible to produce a block from Wood shavings and the like without the use of a binder, by giving;` to the same the shape as shown in the drawing, one of the primary requisites however being that the shavings before beingy introduced and subjected to pressure are in a perfectly dry condition. When the bloeks have been formed as above pointed out, they are solid and hard, and do not crumble, chip or break When handled or When stacked.

W'hat I claim is 2-- 1. As an article of malmfacture, an elongated briquet having obtuse tetragonal ends and composcd of dried Wood shavings and the like conipressed into a coherent mass.

2. As an article of manufacture, an elongated briquet having` truncated ta|l)ering ends and composed of dry wood shavings Vgated briqliet having truncated pyramidal and the like compressed into a coherent D Tn testimony Whereof I aflix my signature mass, 1n the presence of two Witnesses.

3. As an artlcle of manufacture, an elon- DAVID C MCCAN ends and composed of dried Wood shavings Witnesses: and the hke compressed lnto a coherent I-I. B. KING, mass. ANTON GLOETZNER, J r. 

